Male worker is charged in school guard's death

A 28-year-old groundskeeper was charged yesterday with first-degree murder in last month's bludgeoning of a young woman he had worked with at St. Timothy's School in Stevenson.

Baltimore County police said Harvey Allen Teets Jr. of the 3000 block of Walnut Street, Manchester, was arrested for the murder of Kimberly R. Kenna, 23, who lived at the exclusive girls' boarding school while she worked there as a part-time security guard.

Mr. Teets, who was arrested at the school without incident at about 2 p.m., was denied bail and taken to a lockup at the Cockeysville precinct, police said. He is scheduled for a bail review hearing today.

Mr. Teets began working at St. Timothy's in July, according to the school's headmaster, Galen H. Brewster.

"Prior to his arrest, he did an outstanding job," Mr. Brewster said of Mr. Teets. "He was on time, hardworking, polite."

E. Jay Miller, a spokesman for the county police, said he did notknow how well Mr. Teets knew Miss Kenna.

"We don't know what the motive was," Mr. Miller said. Mr. Teets "was a suspect rather early in the investigation."

Investigators have physical evidence linking Mr. Teets to the crime scene, according to the police spokesman.

Miss Kenna's body was discovered Feb. 23 floating in a pond about 20 feet from the guard shack where she worked. She was clad only in her blue guard's jacket and a shirt. Her other clothing had been thrown into the water, police said.

An autopsy showed that Miss Kenna died from a severe beating, especially about the head, police said. But the coroner could not conclude whether she was sexually assaulted.

Evidence gathered at the scene indicated that Miss Kenna was attacked in the guardhouse and then dragged to the pond. Police think Miss Kenna was caught by surprise and did not have time to use the walkie-talkie in the shack to alert school officials.

A teacher who was walking her dog past the guard shack shortly after 7 a.m. noticed Miss Kenna's white Chevrolet Beretta parked at the side of the road, the shack door open, a television on and blood on the ground.

The teacher followed a trail of blood about 20 yards to a small pond, which is partially bordered by a low stone wall, where she spotted Miss Kenna's body.

The slaying shocked and frightened the 107 students and 23 faculty members at St. Timothy's, most of whom live on the 234-acre campus in the 8400 block of Greenspring Avenue.

"Of course our community is relieved that there has been an arrest," Mr. Brewster said. "But I think it is fair to say they wish it were someone else."